Athlete's Olympic Dreams Dashed After Saving His Daughter's Life

Why Is This Important?

Because life plans can change in an instant.

Long Story Short

A top Australian Olympian was crushed by a car while saving his daughter’s life and won’t be able to compete at the Olympics in Rio. Thankfully though, the public has reached out to support him and his family.

Long Story

We often look to athletes as heroes, but maybe not in the same way as we’d call Australian high jumper Chris Dodd a hero, but he still is one.

Australian high jumper Chris Dodd sacrificed Rio 2016 dreams to save his daughter - an actual hero. Lets hope for a speedy recovery.

Last month, Dodd and his wife Kellie were taking their daughters out of the family car when the vehicle began to roll backwards, reports The Independent.

Dodd quickly jumped behind the car to push his four-year-old daughter Ella out of the way, but they were both run over.

The next day, Ella was let out of the hospital with severe bruising, but Dodd’s injuries were much worse — he’d suffered a spinal and pelvis fractures as well as issues with his urethra.

As the fourth best high-jumper in Australia, Dodd tragically won’t be able to accomplish his dream of competing in Rio de Janeiro next year, but there is some silver lining to all this.

Hundreds of people have reached out to Dodd through a GoFundMe posted by his wife to cover the medical insurance, car damage, and make up for Dodd’s lost income as a gym teacher. Thus far, Dodd has reached $32,326 towards a $40,000 goal.

“The community have blown us away,” wrote Kellie Dodd on the GoFundMe page.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: Should Olympians be compensated for accidents that happen in the midst of training?

Disrupt Your Feed: Olympic athletes train just as hard, or nearly as hard as the pros, but while your average NBA player is making millions, Olympians like Dodd have to work second jobs to make ends meet. It’s just not fair.

Drop This Fact: Olympic athletes don't get paid for competing, but are awarded bonuses for getting a medal. For example, the United States Olympic Committee pays out medal bonuses of $25,000 goes for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.